Two lifeboat crews had to coax a horse back to dry land after it bolted into the water off Hayling Island, Hampshire, last week (3 July).
It is thought that the horse was spooked by a dog causing the rider to fall off. The horse then bolted into the Langstone Harbour channel.
Two lifeboat crews, who had watched the incident develop, were tasked with trying to return the horse back to the safety of the beach.
“We had to do a bit of shepherding,” said Aaron Gent from RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) Portsmouth lifeboat station
‘”We were trying to persuade the horse swimming out further was a bad idea.”
The horse was eventually herded back but then galloped across the shore, where one of the lifeboats had to prevent it from heading towards nearby families.
The horse was finally caught 10 minutes later by a member of public near the Ferry Boat Inn car park and returned to his owner.
